Shoe rack



H. L. G LIDDEN Jan. 14, 1941.

SHOE RACK Filed Aug. 29, 1939 Patented Jan. 14, 1941 UNITED STAT-Es I SHOE RACK Harve L. Glidden, Lexington, Mass., assignorto United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington,.N. J2, a corporationof New Jersey Application Augustcs, 1939, Serial No. 292,459

3 Claims. I (Cl. 211-44) This invention relatesto racks and is herein illustrated as embodied in a shoe rack suitable for use in supporting shoes and for transporting them from one part of a factory to another.

During the manufacture of shoes, as the partly completed shoes progress through the factory, they are usually-supported, upon movable racks, in inverted position so that they can readily be grasped by an operator and quickly presented to operating instrumentalities. Part of the time, however, and particularly during finishing operations performed upon the shoes, it is desirable to support the shoes right side up. In the past, this has been accomplished either by employing several different types of shoe racks or by providing a rack so constructed that it can be used for supporting shoes either in upright or .in inverted position. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved shoe rack of a simple and inexpensive construction, which is especially adapted to support shoes selectively either in upright or inverted position.

To this end and as illustrated, I have provided a shoe rack in which there are shoe supporting members extending at an inclination to the horizontal, and a combined toe rest and heel shelf arranged to extend across the inclined shoe supporting members, together with means for locating the combined toe rest and heel shelf along the members in position tosupport the forepart of a shoe resting upon the members with the shoe bottom upwardly disposed, or to support the heel end portion of the shoe in upright position with the sole of the shoe resting upon the members. Preferably and as shown, the shoe supporting members are in the form of dowel pins, and the toe rest comprises a bar extending across the pins and having a projection arranged to be positioned in any one of several slots in the end frame of the rack to locate the toe rest in predetermined positions along the pins. I

These and other features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, are described in the following specification, and are pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion, of a shoe rack illustrating an embodiment of my invention, showing the combined toe rest and heel shelf in position to support shoes in inverted position;

ig. 2 is a similar View illustrating a combined toe rest and heel shelf located in a different position from that shown in Fig. 1; and.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the rack showing the combined toe rest and shelf in position to support shoes in upright position.

Each of the figures of the drawing shows an end portion of a shoe rack, it being understood that the other end of the rack is similarly constructed. The rack comprises an end frame composed of upright angle sections l and a crossbar I2 arranged to receive several shelves, one of which is indicated generally by reference character l4. Each shelf comprises an end member I6 and side rails l! and l8,between which are located shoe supporting members in the form of dowel pins 20, the whole shelf being secured in position in the frame by metal clips 22. It is to be noted that rail I8 is somewhat higher than rail 11 and that the pins are inclined upwardly from rail I! to rail IS. The dowel pins 20 are arranged in pairs with the pins of each pair 20 close to each other. Adjacent pairs of pins are separated sufficiently to receive between them shoes; such as shoe 24, Fig. 1, with the heel part of the shoe positioned between the pins and partly resting upon the adjacent pins with the shoe in inverted position.

For supporting the forepart of the shoe, there is provided a toe rest 26 in the form of a bar, which normally extends across the pins 20 and has a tenon 28 which can be positioned in any 30 one of three slots 30, 32 or 34 in the end member l6 and extending normal to the plane of the pins 20. This provides means for selectively 1ocating the toe rest in predetermined position along the pins 20. The toe rest 26 has secured 35 to it a strip 36 of wood or other material, which extends outwardly from one side of the toe rest, thus forminga combined toe rest and heel shelf as will later be explained.

In Fig. 1 the'combined toe rest and shelf is 40 shown as being located with the tenon 28 in the middle slot 32. It this position the toe rest operates to support the forepart of the shoe 24 which rests upon pins 20 with the heel end disposed outwardly toward the rail 11. Because of the inclination of the pins, shoes placed upon them will slide down the pins until they are arrested by the rail H. A strip of felt 38 extending along the rail I1 is provided to prevent contact of shoes with the rail, thereby to eliminate likelihood of marring the uppers of the shoes.

In Fig. 2 the toe rest 26 is shown as positioned in one of the end slots 30 with the shelf 36 extending toward the rail H. In this position shoes, such as a shoe, are located upon pins 20 with the heel portion of the shoe disposed toward the rail I8, and the forepart located upon the toe rest 26, in such manner that the bottom of the forepart of the shoe is held substantially in a horizontal plane. This is desirable, particularly in those operations in which material, such as cement, is applied to the bottom of the forepart of the shoe in .order that the cement will not run off the bottom of the shoe.

Fig. 3 illustrates the rack with the combined I toe rest and heel shelf located with the tenon 28 in the slot 34 and the heel shelf 36 resting upon the pins 26 adjacent to the rail I8. In this position shoes, such as a shoe 42, can be readily supported in the rack with the heels resting upon the shelf 36 and the soles of the shoes resting upon the pins 29. In this case the rest 26 also acts as a heel stop to prevent the shoes from sliding down along the pins. In most instances the size of the shoe to be supported is so related to the width of the spaces between the pins 20, that the shoe will not fall through, and consequently no other device will be needed than the heel shelf 36 for converting the rack from one which will support shoes in inverted position to one which will support the shoes in upright position. However, for carrying shoes of small sizes, it is sometimes desirable to placea strip of cardboard 44 upon the pins 28 below the toe rest 26 in order to prevent the shoes from passing through the pins.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe rack comprising a frame, shoe supporting pins carried by the frame, a movable toe rest extending across the pins, a heel shelf secured to and extending from the toe rest, and means for selectively locating the toe rest and shelf in any one of several positions along the pins thereby to adapt the rack for use in supporting shoes in upright position or in inverted position. A

2. A shoe rack comprising a frame, shoe supportingpins carried by the frame and extending at an inclination to the horizontal, a combined toe rest and heel shelf extending across the pins, and means for selectively locating the toe rest and shelf along the pins to adapt the rack to support a shoe in inverted position with the bottom of the forepart of the shoe substantially horizontal or to support the shoe in upright position.

3. A shoe rack comprising an end frame, side rails supported in the end frame, shoe supporting adapt the rack for use in supporting shoes in upright position or in inverted position.

HARVEY L. GLIDDEN. 

